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Saddam could face death penalty
http://www.sina.com.cn 2003/12/16 13:14  Shanghai Daily

  Iraqi leaders: Former president could face the death penalty

  Saddam Hussein's capture is reaping dividends for the US military, providing intelligence that led to the arrest of several top regime figures in Baghdad, a US general said yesterday. Suicide bombers attacked police stations in the Iraqi capital, killing eight people as the insurgency showed no sign of letting up.

  A member of the Iraqi Governing Council said Saddam could be put on trial in the next few weeks and face execution if convicted, though another member said it could take four to six months to begin the trial before a war crimes tribunal set up last week.

  American officials said interrogations of Saddam, whose current location was unknown, will focus first on getting intelligence on the insurgency.

  US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Saddam was not helping. "He has not been cooperative in terms of talking or anything like that," Rumsfeld told CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday.

  But US Army Brigade General Mark Hertling of the 1st Armored Division told The Associated Press in Baghdad that the first round of Saddam's questioning and documents in a briefcase found with him was "connecting the dots" in intelligence on the insurgency.

  "It was reported as his personal briefcase," Hertling said. "There were a lot of things that can be exploited."

  Since Saddam's capture, US Army teams from the 1st Armored Division have captured one high-ranking former regime figure - who has yet to be identified - and that prisoner has given up a few others, Hertling said, adding that all the men are currently being interrogated and more raids are expected.

  "We've already gleaned intelligence value from his capture," Hertling said. "We've already been able to capture a couple of key individuals here in Baghdad. We've completely confirmed one of the cells. It's putting the pieces together and it's connecting the dots. It has already helped us significantly."

  Hertling said, "I'm sure he was giving some guidance to some key figures in this insurgency."

  With Saddam's capture, 13 figures remained at large from the US military's list of 55 most-wanted regime officials. The highest ranking is Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, a close Saddam aide who US officials say may be directly organizing resistance.

  Violence continued yesterday despite Saddam's capture. Car bombings at police stations in Baghdad left eight policemen dead and at least 17 wounded, police officials said. The deadliest attack was a suicide attack at a station house in northern Baghdad where the eight officers were killed. Two other car bombings at a station in the west of the city caused seven injuries and additional explosions rocked the city hours later.

  Hertling said he hoped Saddam will eventually clear up allegations that he had chemical and biological weapons and a nuclear weapons program.

  Saddam's exact whereabouts yesterday were unclear. US officials said he had been moved to a secure location and remains in Iraq. CNN and the Dubai-based Arab TV station Al-Arabiya reported Saddam was taken to Qatar.

  Saddam could be tried "in the next few weeks" and could be executed if convicted, said Mouwafak al-Rabii, a Shiite member of the Iraqi Governing Council, yesterday. Other council members said a trial would likely begin later.

  "We will get sovereignty on the 30th of June, and I can tell you, he could be executed on the 1st of July." said al-Rabii.

  Saddam was captured by Special Forces during a massive raid on a farmhouse near his hometown of Tikrit.

  The tip-off came from a member of a family close to Saddam, who was arrested in Baghdad on Friday and brought to Tikrit on Saturday morning for an interrogation that made clear Saddam was in the area.




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